Secret Masquerades
by Joyful-Sound
Summary: Fic Exchange for Flawless Fantasy. It's the annual East High Valentines Dance, but there's a twist, it's a Masquerade! Nobody should know the identity of anyone but their date. A secret affair, a digital camera, and finally, no interruptions. TxG oneshot


**Valentines Day fic exchange for Flawless Fantasy! Hope you enjoy it! **

**And a Happy Valentines Day to all other readers! **

**Oh, and I don't own HSM :)**

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Loud music burst through the amplifiers lining the spacious gym as a teenage boy with shaggy hair and brilliant blue eyes crossed the dance floor. His eyes darted around the crowd from behind the black masquerade mask that went over his eyes. It was spanning from a quarter of the way down from his nose to up to his mid-forehead, making his identity unrecognizable. 

The boy nervously fidgeted, trying to get past the mass of dancers. It seemed like everyone but he was having an excellent time. Did he stand out like a sore thumb? The masked students and occasionally a teacher could be seen littering the dance floor with a variation of costumes and hues of color.

There was a Batman break-dancing (Catwoman turning a dark shade of mauve under her mask), a bushy haired girl dressed as a wizard giggling with another wizard with red hair, who looked similar to two characters from Harry Potter…

The dance had been held, of course, in the East High gym; the red and white colors surrounding it blotted out by colorful movie posters and streamers of all colors. The theme had been set as movie couples, but the purpose of the masquerade was that only you and your date should know who each other were.

"A Secret Masquerade!" Gabriella had excitedly exclaimed just hours before on the phone.

At the moment, the only thing people could see of the boy that was crossing the dance floor was that he vaguely resembled the famous movie character Zorro. Nobody knew he was indeed the basketball star of the school Troy Bolton. That was the good thing.

But where was Elena, the dark-haired girl that was supposed to be at Zorro's side? And more importantly, who would she be behind the mask? He didn't know where she was. That was the bad thing.

Troy reached his destination, the punch table, pretending to know exactly what he was doing.

On the other hand, he had utterly no idea what he was doing. The only thing he knew of what to do was that she was supposed to meet him at the punch table at the start of the dance. Well, the dance had started fifteen minutes ago.

_What is she doesn't like me as a boyfriend?_ Troy silently asked himself for the thousandth time, worried sick. _Maybe she didn't have the courage to come and tell me herself. Did I really make it that obvious that I wanted to go as more than friends? Maybe she wants me to get the message by just not coming. I should have volunteered to pick her up for the dance. Maybe-_

"Tr- Zorro?" A soft voice asked behind him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Gabri- Elena?" He turned and whispered; making the same mistake the girl in front of him had made by nearly saying their true name. She was wearing a beautiful crimsonred dress; the ruffled sleeves hanging loosely from her small shoulders. An elegant scarf wrapped around her back, before dipping down to wrap around her elbows - like a lengthened shawl.

"Mmhmm," She grinned, her red mask that was much like her dates' crinkled as she smiled. "I'm sorry I'm late… My mom just _had_ to get some pictures. She begged me to take some more while we were here." She held up a digital camera, giggling.

"It's quite alright, my lovely lady," Troy asked in a very bad Spanish accent, holding out his hand. "Now, onto the real business for tonight. Would you like to dance?" A slow dance had begun shortly before, and couples were taking the rare opportunity where they were allowed to 'get close' to each other without having to worry about getting a 'Darbus Style' detention forced upon them.

"I'd love to." She said, taking his hand and letting Troy lead her to the dance floor. Gabriella slowly wrapped her arms around Troy's neck, unsure if he was okay with her doing that.

_I wish he would have specified what we're going as. Friends, or… couple? _She asked herself, wishing with all her heart that it would be the latter. She could just move her hands to his shoulder… Like the 'just friends' dance.

Troy, sensing her uneasiness, just as nervously pulled her closer, hoping this awkward moment would pass. Gabriella's stomach did a flip-flop at the gesture, but she didn't resist. As she finally began to relax, so did Troy. His arms eased from their current frozen position, gently and smoothly. Gabriella began to chuckle lightly.

"Hey, my dancing's not that bad Montez," Troy joked.

"Nah, Bolton, you're fine," She began, smiling; they always would joke around and call each other by their last names. She liked it. "It's just funny how completely awkward this is." Gabriella said before she could stop herself. She would have kicked herself if nobody were around. Instead, she popped her manicured hand over her mouth.

"Yeah, I agree," Troy said, trying to avoid another awkward silence. He hadn't noticed Gabriella's hand-to-mouth gesture. "How about we head up to our secret spot? I mean, if you don't want to, I'd understand. Since it's cold outside and you're not in proper attire and-"

"I'd love to," She giggled despite her current feeling of nervousness. Gabriella found it the funniest thing when Troy would start rambling. It was just too cute. "But could I get a picture really quick?"

"Um, I guess," Troy gave her a questioned look.

"My mom wants pictures… I mentioned it earlier…" Gabriella mumbled, embarrassed. She refused to admit to Troy she wanted to do a scrapbook page of the dance, and that her mother hadn't made her bring the camera. Someone dressed as Aladdin came past, and Gabriella stopped him to ask if he'd be willing to take a picture.

"Excuse me, would you take a picture of my friend and I dancing?" She asked with a small smile.

"Sure," He agreed to Gabriella's question. Gabriella handed him her digital camera, showing him how to snap the picture. Troy then took Gabriella in his arms and they acted like they were dancing again, so the picture was taken.

When the camera was handed back to them, both were taken aback.

_I look so much better than I did in the mirror earlier… I look so right in his arms… _Gabriella's head spun with thoughts. She had never really thought of herself as really 'pretty', against what Taylor always told her; and now she was thinking that Taylor was in a way, right. For some reason, when she was around Troy, she seemed so radiant and full of laughter and smiles.

_She just fits so perfectly up next to me… Why can't I just ask her? _Troy agonized as their photographer stood looking at the picture as well. He had never been photogenic, but Gabriella seemed to take that away. Smiles came natural to him when Gabriella was around.

"Thanks," Troy finally said to 'Aladdin' to break the silence. The two had been in such awe, they had nearly forgotten the teenager behind them, not to mention the loud music in the background. After all, the dance was still in full swing.

"No problem," He nodded. "Nice costume." Troy nodded back, and the student walked off.

"We can go now, right?" Troy asked. He had decided he would finally tell Gabriella his feelings at their secret spot.

"Of course." Gabriella nodded. She had decided that it was time to tell Troy how she really felt about him. Troy took them through the narrow corridor to the locker rooms, where a door in the back would lead them to a spot a short walk away to the stairs that would take them to the Secret Spot.

When the couple opened the door to the furthest back locker room, they found a couple that lip-locked would not begin to describe what these two were doing. _Tongue-tied_ would probably be the proper term, since the couple was so concentrated on the other, they didn't notice the stream of light pouring in through the open doorway that Troy had opened.

Gabriella held back a giggle while they quietly made their way to the back. Once Troy found the door they were looking for, he opened it and led Gabriella outside.

The couple was bewildered when a sudden rush of cold air greeted them. Albuquerque was not the usual place to get cold, but tonight a cold front had dropped the temperatures area-wide. Troy, one the other hand, didn't mind much. Gabriella was a bit colder than Troy, since she didn't have any sleeves to keep her warm.

She had to admit, it was colder than she had anticipated, so she wrapped the scarf she had on tighter around herself, to keep her arms warm. Troy, noticing this, slowly put his arm around her as they sat down at their little bench where they had begun their 'Like Kindergarten' chat. Troy was trying to say something, but his brain failed to issue a signal to his mouth.

He wanted so bad to say something, anything, which might hint that he wanted to go to the dance as more than friends. It was the perfect moment. The sun had already gone down, and the breath-taking New Mexico starlight sky made the scene more romantic. An evening under the stars behind masks, and there would finally be no interruptions.

It was perfect.

If only Troy could open his mouth… Say anything! The connection still seemed to be broken, though. Gabriella, noticing him struggling against something, although she still had no idea what, broke the silence.

"You're awfully quiet." Gabriella said as she toyed with a leaf from a nearby plant. Troy, still trying to say something, couldn't emit anymore than a slight gurgle. "You okay?" Gabriella asked, now concerned.

"No- No. I'm alright," He sighed. "If you haven't noticed, I've been at a loss for words lately." _There. I said something that indicates my nerves. _Troy thought.

"Look Troy," Gabriella began. It was now or never. "About what we were going as to the dance-"

"Zorro and Elena?" He interrupted, a bit too quickly. _This is it. She's going to say she doesn't like me that way! _Troy bit his bottom lip.

"No. I mean…" She paused, searching for words. "Us."

"Us?" Troy asked, gulping. It came out more of a hiccup; making him sound like his voice was cracking, like when he was thirteen. How truly embarrassing. Here he was, under the stars with the girl of his dreams, and he just sounded like a thirteen-year-old boy that's voice was changing. He racked his brain for a witty excuse, but nothing came.

Gabriella, being deep in thought, didn't seem to notice much. She, too, was racking her brain for something to say, but it wasn't a witty comment she was looking for. Finally, she decided to just tell it to him straight up.

"Yes Troy, us. Over the past few weeks, I've been trying to assess my feelings on you. First, you've been giving hints and then, just as I think you'll get close to telling me how I hope you feel, you'll turn around and starting giving me the silent treatment. Like now." She sighed, getting up and walking over to the railing of the area, looking out over the stars. "And-"

"Gabriella," Troy quickly got up, going over to where Gabriella was. "I- I was n-nervous." He stuttered.

"About what, Troy?" Gabriella's heart leaped, while her stomach was in knots.

"About how I really feel. Gabriella, I really do like you. And," He took of his mask. "Let me get rid of this thing so I can actually say it to you in person," He chuckled. "Okay. Gabriella, I like you as so much more than a friend, and I should have clarified earlier what we were going to the dance as."

This time, it was Gabriella who was speechless. _Well, go on, tell him you like him back! GO! _Her insides screamed.

"Would you like to finish up this Masquerade as my girlfriend?" Troy asked, rubbing the back of his neck like most males do when they are waiting for a response to an important question.

Instead, she untied her mask, let it gently fall to the ground, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Troy, taken aback, slid his arms around her waist. _Was that a yes?_ He wanted to ask her. Girls were so confusing.

As if answering him with actions, Gabriella stood on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on his lips, like she was answering "_Yes Troy, that's a yes._"

There were finally no interruptions.

When they broke apart, Troy couldn't help but notice how really stunning she was. She soft light of the stars illuminated onto her face, her hair hanging down in curls that shaped her face, and here deep brown eyes that looked up at him with admiration.

"Wow." Was all Gabriella could utter before the gap between their faces was closed again. Gratefully, Gabriella kissed Troy back, enjoying the sweet taste of peppermint that hung on his lips.

The two finally came back up for air, noticing that the dance was finally ending. But, as the other students leaving the gym were taking off their masks, the couple at the secret spot was putting theirs back on.

After all, their secret masquerade wasn't quite over just yet.

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**Things for fic to include: **secret affair, Masquerade party w/masks and gowns, a digital camera. 

**One Central Pairing: **Troyella

**Things not to include: **friends having any major influence, suspicion, parents not supporting the relationship leading to the affair, anyone having any real influence besides the main couple

**I tried my best to fulfill all of that! **

**And I'd also like to thank Kat (lola bunny xo) for making sure this story had no typos and that it was grammatically correct! –hugs her-**

**For returning readers, please review and let me know how I did :)**

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